In America, we see Islamic women all covered up and think, "That poor woman, made to be ashamed of her body!" But is it any less oppressive to convince a woman that her uncovered body is never beautiful enough? Is covering enslavement... or freedom? I wanted to find out.

Tonight: Parties! I'll update how long it took me and stuff tomorrow, but I anticipate it taking awhile cause Significant Other (forthwith to be referred to as M.F., "My Fella")'s friends and stuff will be there and I'll want to look polished. Sunday, I get to meet his family!... And there is no way in hell I'm going there NOT looking my best.

I haven't actually been wearing as much makeup and spending as much time as I usually do on hair and stuff these last few days because I've been with MF. MF is the wonderful man who regularly told me he thought I was prettier without makeup, and this led to my considering going without, which led to my panicking about it, which led to me going, "WHOA I'm scared of that. I wonder why?"

Being around someone who has not only seen me in the morning and on my worst skin days, but also actively prefers me bare-faced, makes me much less concerned about wearing makeup. This isn't to say that MF and I have some magical relationship where physical appearance doesn't matter-- in fact, he first made contact with me by leaving a comment on a photo of me on a friend's Facebook page telling me how beautiful I was, and when that photo was taken I was definitely in full-on done-up mode. But... meh. Now I find myself not wearing makeup because he likes me better that way. I wonder what that means? I'd like to expound upon that, but the party is at seven and I need at LEAST two hours to get ready.

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About Me

I'm a grad student getting my M.Div. at Candler Theological Seminary at Emory. I'll be turning 30 next year, and I've recently noticed that I heal more slowly, need more sleep, and have more trouble staying thin. I say I'm a feminist who doesn't buy into the beauty myth, because it's just a ploy to keep women forking over for expensive clothes, makeup, surgery, etc. But facing the realization that I won't be "hot" forever fills me with terror, and suddenly I see that for someone who believes she's above Western culture's emphasis on appearance, I sure do place a lot of importance on how I look. I have about $400 worth of makeup in my bathroom and God knows how much in clothes, and the very thought of giving all that away and going without makeup, even for a day, fills me with an unfamiliar, gripping panic.
I wonder: what would life be like for me if I just... STOPPED? So from 1/1/11 to 9/16/11, I'm going to dress "modestly"-- which means covering my hair, arms and legs-- and I'm going to stop wearing makeup. Cold turkey, from stylish to stripped down, every day for over nine months. I wonder what will happen?